27 July 2023 , 15:20
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The Indianapolis Colts will not be rushed into starting new quarterback Anthony Richardson at the start of the 2023 NFL season with coaches only ready to deploy the fourth overall selection if he's ready to play.
The Colts selected Richardson, 21, earlier at this year's NFL Draft before agreeing terms over a four-year, $34 million contract that's fully guaranteed.
The hope is that the former Florida star can provide long-term stability to the Colts while showing off his impressive skillset that includes the fastest 40-yard dash time, the best vertical jump, and the broad jump out of all of the quarterbacks in his combine class.
Richardson will now head into Colts training camp to fight with journeyman Gardner Minshew for a starting spot, but the rookie is already leaving quite the impression. Teammates have been raving about the freakishly athletic 6ft4 quarterback, while his down-to-earth nature has been talked up behind the scenes, after helping clear a messy room following his rookie orientation.
The Colts will not rush Richardson into a starting spot, though, with Indianapolis happy to wait on the QB's development if need be. That's according to General Manager Chris Ballard, who said the coaching staff will make that call.
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“That’s discussions that Mr. [Jim] Irsay, Shane [Steichen], the coaching staff — all of us will have,” Ballard said in his press conference on Tuesday. “You don’t want to put him out there and he’s not ready to handle everything that requires playing the position.
"I’ll lean heavily on our coaching staff — on what they think and what they think he can handle and what he’s ready for. Then eventually he’ll play. But until he’s ready, we’ll make that determination and if the coaching staff thinks he’s ready to go, then we’ll play him.”
The quarterback was selected at No. 4 in the 2023 NFL Draft (Getty)Ballard has also said that Richardson's readiness will also be determined by competitive game minutes during preseason. "The more live-bullet reps — like we can go through camp and get every rep we can, but until you’re in a game and you’re actually getting those live-bullet reps, it’s hard to really grow and get better,” Ballard added. “They have to be ready to handle — because there is going to be some successes, but there is going to be some failure too along the way.
“You want them to be ready to be able to handle enough of the offense where we can give him enough tools to where they can perform and have success. You want to be able to set him up to have some success early — not just all downhill.”
Despite the Colts being keen to not put too much pressure on Richardson, they are confident that he will be able to climatise to life in the NFL. “Look, he is very even-keeled,” Ballard said.
A lot of hype surrounds Anthony Richardson, who is gearing up for his rookie NFL season (Getty)“He’s very stable in that he doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. Now, until you get into the fire, you don’t really know.
"Look, the pressure on that position — we all know, especially when you draft one high, he’s automatically stamped as the automatic savior before he’s even played a down. Him and I have had long talks about being able to handle the highs and lows of the position because you have to.
“You all know how it is. Even the established ones that will have down moments — all of a sudden the world says they’re done. It’s a week-to-week league. That’s just what our league is. So, how you perform from week to week is pretty much what people are going to write and you’ve got to be able to handle that. You’ve got to be able to handle the good and the bad, and take both in stride.”